Surge of Albanian Human trafficking in the UK

The National Crime Agency (NCA) reports a massive increase in the number of humans trafficked into the UK. The majority of them are from Albania.

The traffickers in Albania have a hot spot – the southern Albanian city of Vlore.

The victims have traumatic pasts. They are raped, assaulted while pregnant, and held captive. The gangs not only exploit the victims, but also sell them to other gangs. They are threatened and made to work without any compensation. The agencies estimate that there are more than 5000 such persons who need to be saved from the traffickers. The gangs are spread across Europe and also operate in the UK. The gangs are involved in all sorts of organized crime in addition to human trafficking.

In the UK, the Salvation Army is trying to help the known victims. It is estimated that around 50% of the humans trafficked into the UK are being forced to work as prostitutes, while others work as modern slaves, often with little or no compensation.

These victims are made to work in car-wash centers, nail-spas, massage parlors where they are in proximity of customers but are not able to speak up. This is because their oppressors keep a close watch on them and do not let them talk to people who might notice their suffering.

The deputy interior minister of Albania, Rovena Voda, points towards the high level of corruption in the system. She also reports that the ministry is vetting the police, the prosecution and the courts, in a coordinated manner, to root out corruption. Corruption is the reason why the victims do not trust the police. They believe that their secrets will be leaked to the criminals, which will put their lives at risk.

The Modern Slavery helpline in the UK receives numerous calls, 10% of which are from victims themselves, who are trapped and manage to access a phone.

The UK government has committed around £150m to end modern slavery, including £33m dedicated towards high-risk source countries.

CHALLENGE

Women, men, and children are forced into unpaid labor, and sex globally. It’s a multibillion-dollar industry which exploits unsuspecting humans for their entire lives. More than 20 million people are working as slaves globally, as you read this. If a victim manages to escape their oppressors, they have hope of being helped. But the majority of the victims have no hope to live a normal life again. Despite being in plain sight, in close vicinity of customers where they are forced to work, the victims are not able to voice their concerns and get help.

According to the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OOCRP): “Albanian organized criminal gangs are operating at the higher end of sophistication and are certainly operating in the UK as they do within several other countries in western Europe,” NCA deputy director Tom Dowdall told Sky News.

The criminal networks involved in traffickingof humans are spread across countries and continents. There is a need of a coordinated effort across nations and agencies in order to control and end human trafficking. For law enforcement capture of a foot soldier is not a barometer for success until and unless the lynchpins are apprehended and the whole network of organized crime is destroyed.

WHY ICOGNATIVE?

Victims of traffickingoften reveal the identities of their oppressors. They however may not be able to shed light on the larger criminal network during a traditional investigative process. iCognative, a technology offered by Brainwave Scienceemploys a non-invasive technique to determine if the person being tested has awareness of specific information or not. It can be used not only on suspects, but also on witnesses and victims. iCognative can help law enforcers tap into the brain of a suspect and read clues that link him or her to the crime. The iCognative system will analyze the testee’s brain-response to pictures, words and phrases related to the crime. A person who has planned and/or committed the crime, will definitely know minute details which innocent people will not. Criminal investigations can now be conducted in a reliable and accurate manner, without running the risk of being biased and traumatic.

The victims may conceal information because they fear that the police are corrupt and might leak the information to the criminals. But they cannot fool iCognative system. It is immune from the opinions of the test administrator. Being applicable to more than 85% of all criminal and civil cases, iCognative can help close cases faster, and dismantle the most complex criminal networks. Using iCognative agencies can verify if the statements of suspects, victims, or witnesses are entirely correct and it can match testimonies with readily available competitive intelligence.

iCognative developed and provided only by Brainwave Science, is a scientifically proven technique. The system is highly portable, customizable and easy to use. A computer and a specialized headset are used to conduct the test. Pictures, words and phrases are presented to a person. Investigative agencies need to find out how and where trafficking networks operate. When a suspect is tested, his or her brain will react to references of locations, names, objects related to the modus operandi. This helps save time and lives. iCognative gives authorities the opportunity to act in time and detect criminal intentions before being carried out.

It is a unique tool which not only helps solve cases but makes intelligence collection reliable and accurate. To bust the criminal network which puts the lives of thousands of Albanians at risk in a timely manner, Law enforcement agencies must employ the iCognative system.iCognative aids in the reduction of human and drug trafficking crimes by helping to get these criminals off the streets and behind bars.

iCognative offers a state-of-the-art automated cloud-based technology experience that every law enforcement and national intelligence departments urgently needs. Criminals cannot hide when their brainwaves are willing to confess.